No QE tapering this year seen after weak jobs data
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The Federal Reserve may continue buying bonds at the same $85 billion per month rate though 2013 as a result of the weak March nonfarm payroll report, economists said Friday.

“This data should snuff out any chatter that the Fed will taper or wind down the QE purchase operations any time for the foreseeable future,” said Thomas Simons, money market economist at Jefferies & Co.

Fed officials have said they will continue buying Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities until there is a substantial improvement in the outlook for the labor market.

The timing of ending asset purchases is important to financial markets because as long as the Fed is adding to its balance sheet, then the prospect of interest rate hikes remains firmly off the table.

Earlier this week, San Francisco Federal Reserve President John Williams suggested the Fed might slow down the rate of purchases this summer, if the labor market continued to improve. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/no-qe-taperi...2013-04-05